1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of pickup truck cargo load distribution and organization. Pick up trucks or vans carrying their cargo loads on their open-top bed areas see their loads arriving at destination in a pell-mell fashion, as a result of truck movement through traffic thrashing the load left and right, front and rear. When the truck arrives at destination it becomes difficult for the driver to disentangle one load item from the other, especially if the load items are loose items, small bags, or are boxes which end up with their covers removed. The present invention relates to a device for putting an end to this lack of organized load arrangement. It is designed to provide a device conceived for organizing these load items into a plurality of compartments, arrayed in an orderly matrix, and adjusted to fit the size of a truck open top bed, or on the floor of a van, or in a smaller size version, on the seat of a truck or van. In the case of a pickup truck, for example, a tonneau cover can be laid on top of the pickup cargo area to further protect the load items from rain, wind or snow, and the device can be conveniently made to slide underneath the tonneau cover. The device can be used by any professional trucker, by electricians, plumbers and the like, and by any homemaker carrying a cargo of diverse contents.
Thus it can be seen that the potential fields of use for this invention are manifold; consequently, the particular preferred embodiment described herein is in no way meant to limit the use of the invention to the particular field chosen for exposition of the details of the invention.
A comprehensive listing of all the possible fields to which this invention may be applied is limited only by the imagination and is therefore not provided herein. Some of the more obvious applications are mentioned herein in the interest of providing a full and complete disclosure of the unique properties of this previously unknown general purpose article of manufacture. It is to be understood from the outset that the scope of this invention is not limited to these fields or to the specific examples of potential uses presented hereinafter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for carrying and organizing truck bed load areas are old and well known in the art. Several such devices are mentioned in the prior art literature, as will be shown below but, as will be seen, the simplicity and effectiveness of my invention is not rivaled in the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,033, issued to Walter K. Boyd on Mar. 26, 1985, shows a load securing apparatus for a cargo carrying vehicle. It shows a first and a second side rails mounted on the side walls of the open top truck bed, and a first and second retainers attached to the side rails. The retainers are adjusted to be in an erect position inside the truck bed, so as to retain and secure the load and to prevent the load from being thrashed about in the truck bed. The patented device presents therefore two or three major compartments. By contrast, my invention has a much simpler arrangement for arraying a multiplicity of compartments of adjustable dimensions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,298, issued to John A. Bott on Jan. 5, 1988, shows a cargo restraint system. It provides a pair of longitudinal grooves for mounting vertical stops for butting against cargo elements, so as to prevent the movement of these elements inside the cargo bed area. By contrast, the device of the instant invention does not require slots for installation on a truck cargo bed area, but provides instead a multiplicity of compartments for organizing a diverse load on a truck bed floor or on a vehicle seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,899, issued to Orbtie L. Keys on Mar. 29, 1988, shows a pickup truck-bed divider device. The patented device teaches a divider device mountable on a truck bed from one side wall of the bed to the other, so as to provide at least one compartment. The device is mounted without attachment to the truck, so that it may be freely removed, or moved to a different position on the truck bed. By contrast, the device of the instant invention is semi-permanently attached to the inside of a truck or van bed, and has a multiplicity of adjustable and small compartments.
A truck bed load organizer and stabilizer apparatus is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,730, issued to Kendall W. Justice on Oct. 24, 1989. The patent shows a plurality of transverse panels which are made to pivot from a down position to an up position. The panels thus erected prevent the movement of loads about the truck bed. The panels are otherwise retracted flush with the floor of the truck bed when not in an erect position for use. By contrast, the device of the instant invention has a plurality of small compartments adjustable in sizes and numbers, with the primary purpose of distributing and organizing the small load parcels in an orderly array for easy sorting and subsequent searching.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,478, issued to Glenn P. Erickson on Oct. 13, 1992, shows a removable liner for pickup box. The already patented device offers storage compartments arranged alongside each of the two side walls and along the front wall of the cargo area. The liner can be removed from the truck bed by means of jacks and left standing outside the truck when not needed. By contrast, the instant invention presents a device which is much lighter and therefore can easily be removed, and which is divided into a plurality of small adjustable compartments.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 336,063, issued to Robert C. Stallings on Jun. 1, 1993, shows a combined pickup truck bed liner and tool storage container design. The liner is made to fit the cargo area of a pickup truck, and is removable. The primary role of this design is to provide an integral liner and tool storage pair of compartments, mounted against the front wall of the cargo area. By contrast, the device presented by the instant invention is not a liner, but is instead a system of small compartments arrayed for organizing small loads carried in the cargo area.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.